Every protocol is a driver of the same acquisition engine. All are included in the licence: no module to buy per PLC brand, no option to enable.
| Protocol | Transport | Mode | Addressing | Write |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modbus TCP | TCP / 502 | Polling | Register or bit | yes |
| Modbus RTU | RS-485 or RS-232 serial | Polling | Register or bit | yes |
| OPC UA | TCP / 4840 | Subscription | Node identifier | yes |
| BACnet/IP | UDP / 47808 | Polling | Object and property | yes |
| Siemens S7 | TCP / 102 | Polling | Data block, offset, type | yes |
| MQTT | TCP / 1883 or 8883 | Push | Topic and JSON path | yes |
| EtherNet/IP | TCP / 44818 | Polling | Symbolic tag | yes |
| Beckhoff ADS | ADS over TCP / 48898 | Polling | Symbolic variable | yes |
| REST | HTTP or HTTPS | Polling | URL path and JSON path | yes |
| WebSocket | WS or WSS | Push | JSON path | yes |
| Webhook | Inbound HTTP | Push | JSON path | read-only |
| Sparkplug B | MQTT / 1883 or 8883 | Push | Group, node, device, metric | yes |
| MTConnect | HTTP / 5000 | Polling | Data item identifier | read-only |
TCP / 502
The most widespread industrial standard. Reads holding registers and coils, writes register by register or bit by bit. Read batches are split automatically below the 125-register limit set by the protocol.
Worth knowing : Range splitting and slave unit handling are automatic.
PLCs, variable-speed drives, energy meters, controllers, sensors behind a gateway
RS-485 or RS-232 serial
The same protocol over serial, with the same read and write surface. The connection goes through a serial-to-TCP converter, common and inexpensive hardware.
Worth knowing : Plan a serial-to-Ethernet converter; baud rate, parity and stop bits are set in the driver.
Sub-meters, older sensors, drives on a fieldbus
TCP / 4840
The only protocol here that does not poll. Meshvise creates a real subscription on the server and registers every point as a monitored item. The server pushes the value when it changes. No wasted reads on stable values, and a latency that follows the equipment rather than a chosen cadence. The channel can be secured: signing or encryption, a user account, verification of the server certificate.
Worth knowing : Three encryption policies are offered, the ones the OPC Foundation still recommends. The two older ones, cryptographically broken, are deliberately not offered even though the library exposes them. An incomplete configuration is rejected rather than degraded: never a silent fallback to a cleartext session.
Recent PLCs, machine tools, third-party systems exposing an OPC UA server
UDP / 47808
The protocol of buildings and HVAC. Reads analogue, binary and multi-state objects with their presence and value properties.
Worth knowing : Broadcast discovery is not used: equipment is declared by address, which avoids surprises on segmented networks and in containers.
Air handling units, boilers, zone controllers, commercial metering, chillers
TCP / 102
Direct access to Siemens PLCs without an intermediate server. Each point lives at a precise position inside a data block: block number, byte offset and data type.
Worth knowing : On the 1200 and 1500 ranges, optimised block access must be disabled on the PLC, or the block declared accessible.
S7-300, S7-400, S7-1200, S7-1500
TCP / 1883 or 8883
Versions 3.1.1 and 5.0. Meshvise subscribes to the declared topics and keeps the latest value of each. When the payload is a JSON object, a dotted path selects the value to extract, for example data.temperature.
Worth knowing : Works with an existing broker: Meshvise connects as a client, it does not impose its own.
Wireless sensors, field gateways, existing brokers, industrial connected devices
TCP / 44818
The protocol of Rockwell PLCs, with symbolic addressing. A point declares the tag name inside the controller directly, using program and array syntax.
Worth knowing : Program-scoped tags and structure members are reachable with their native notation.
ControlLogix L7 and L8 series, CompactLogix L1 to L3 series
ADS over TCP / 48898
Access to TwinCAT runtimes by naming program variables directly, for example a speed variable in the main block or a boolean in a global list.
Worth knowing : The variable type is declared explicitly: the protocol does not expose it automatically. Two numbers not to be confused: the connection goes through the AMS router on TCP port 48898, whereas the AMS port designates the runtime being queried, 851 for TwinCAT 3 and 801 for TwinCAT 2.
CX embedded controllers, industrial PCs running TwinCAT 2 or 3
HTTP or HTTPS
Periodic polling of any HTTP interface returning JSON. Authentication by username and password or by token. Writing goes back through the same interface.
Worth knowing : Useful to pull in a source that is not industrial at all but counts in an indicator.
Business systems, weather stations, inverters, third-party services, proprietary gateways
WS or WSS
Permanent connection to a service that pushes its values. Every incoming message is parsed as JSON and feeds the point cache.
Worth knowing : The connection re-establishes itself after a drop.
Equipment or services broadcasting a proprietary real-time stream
Inbound HTTP
The inverse of the REST driver. Meshvise exposes an address and waits for the remote system to publish its values there. Useful when the source refuses to be polled or is only reachable outbound.
Worth knowing : Read-only by construction: Meshvise is the server in this direction.
Third-party platforms, LoRa sensors through their network server, notification services
MQTT / 1883 or 8883
Standardised industrial MQTT. Meshvise acts as the host application, the supervisor role: it reads birth messages to build the metric table, then decodes the data messages. A write goes out as a command message, to the node or the device. Equipment structure is discovered, not declared.
Worth knowing : Automatic metric discovery is the main benefit: plugging in a gateway is enough for its points to appear.
Edge gateways, unified namespace architectures
HTTP / 5000
The de facto standard of the machine tool world, native on Haas, Mazak, Okuma and Doosan, available on Fanuc and Siemens through a manufacturer's adapter. Meshvise queries the agent as a client: the probe discovers the points, current state is polled at the chosen rate. The running program, execution state, part count and spindle load are read directly, without going through a cell PLC.
Worth knowing : The standard is a three-tier architecture: the machine talks to an adapter, the adapter to an agent, the agent to Meshvise. The agent is therefore an installation prerequisite, stated in the quote; most recent controls ship with one. Read-only by nature: no agent accepts a write, and commanding a machine tool goes through its own numerical control.
Machining centres, CNC lathes, machines fitted with an MTConnect agent
This is not a refinement, it is a condition of access. A Siemens PLC of the 1500 range ships configured to sign or encrypt its exchanges, and refuses an unprotected session. Without this, a site equipped that way simply cannot be connected.
| Setting | What Meshvise offers |
|---|---|
| Encryption policies | Basic256Sha256, Aes128Sha256RsaOaep, Aes256Sha256RsaPss. The Basic128Rsa15 and Basic256 policies are not offered: they are deprecated by the OPC Foundation and cryptographically broken. The underlying library still exposes them, Meshvise does not carry them over. |
| Message mode | None, sign only, or sign and encrypt. Signing proves the origin and integrity of messages. Encrypting adds confidentiality. The mode is chosen according to what the server requires. |
| User account | Username and password, independent of encryption. The standard keeps both settings separate: a server may require an account without encrypting the channel, or the reverse. Meshvise follows that separation instead of imposing one. |
| Server certificate | Explicit verification, enabled by providing the certificate. With no certificate provided, Meshvise accepts whatever the server presents and says so, in the driver log and on screen. That is trust on first use, defensible only on a closed shop-floor network. |
An incomplete security configuration is rejected at three levels: in the database, in the driver and in the form. There is no silent fallback to a cleartext session: either the connection matches what you asked for, or it fails with a message.
Numerical controls and some PLCs speak a house protocol, tied to a licensed library the vendor is not allowed to redistribute. No supervision system connects to it directly without going through the manufacturer, and the option that opens the machine is expensive, usually billed per machine. So the right question is not "do you support Fanuc" but "what do I need to measure, and at what price".
Meshvise does not replace the manufacturer's gateway, it connects to its standardised output. As soon as a machine exposes OPC UA, MQTT or Modbus, it becomes equipment like any other.
The option that makes a machine speak a standard protocol is almost always paid for, billed per machine, and sometimes bundled with a control upgrade. A quote like that is enough to bury a project. Yet there are three cheaper routes before that one, and they cover most indicators.
Tracking how a machine runs does not require reading its numerical control. Running, stopped, cycle and parts produced can be measured from the outside, for a fraction of the price of a manufacturer option.
| Route | What you get | Cost | When to choose it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Signals already wired | Running, stopped, fault, cycle end, depending on what the machine already exposes on terminals. | Almost none | Always look here first. Many machines expose unused dry contacts that a small Modbus input module reads for the price of a cabinet component. |
| 2 External sensors | Consumption, spindle current, cycle time, part counting, downtime, stack light state. | A few hundred euros per machine | The best value for money when the machine is closed or old. A current clamp and a communicating energy meter are enough to see a machine run, timestamp its stops and measure its consumption. |
| 3 Third-party gateway | The control's process data, translated into OPC UA, MQTT or MTConnect. | Varies, often less than the manufacturer option | When you need internal variables: running program, override, machine alarms, dimensions. Adds equipment to maintain, but stays useful even if you change supervision. |
| 4 Manufacturer option | Everything the control exposes, with no intermediary, backed by the manufacturer. | The highest, billed per machine | On a new machine, where the option is negotiated at order time and costs far less than added afterwards. On an existing fleet, keep it for critical machines. |
On a fleet of several machines, what works is equipping the whole fleet from the bottom of the ladder to finally see the whole picture, then going deeper on the two or three machines that really carry performance.
| Manufacturer | Native protocol | Route to Meshvise |
|---|---|---|
| Fanuc | FOCAS | OPC UA option on recent controls, an MTConnect agent read directly, otherwise a FOCAS gateway to OPC UA or MQTT. The FOCAS library is licensed by Fanuc and is not redistributable: nobody can embed it in their product. Check whether the OPC UA option is already enabled, it sometimes is without anyone knowing. If it has to be bought, compare its quote with the first two routes of the ladder before deciding. |
| Mitsubishi | MC Protocol, SLMP | Modbus TCP communication module, OPC UA module on recent ranges, or an SLMP gateway to MQTT. Many MELSEC installations already expose Modbus TCP through a rack module: look in the cabinet before buying anything. A second-hand communication module costs a fraction of a software option. |
| Omron | FINS | EtherNet/IP or Modbus TCP, both supported directly. Recent ranges speak EtherNet/IP natively, which removes the question entirely. |
| Schneider | UMAS | Modbus TCP, supported directly. The proprietary protocol is mostly for programming. To read values, Modbus is enough and it is present everywhere. |
| Other numerical controls | Varies by manufacturer | MTConnect or OPC UA depending on the generation, both read directly. On a machine built after 2015, the question to ask the manufacturer is: can the machine output OPC UA or MTConnect, and under what conditions. |
A gateway translates the manufacturer's protocol into an open one. It adds equipment to maintain and a point of failure, but it makes the machine readable by any system, not only by Meshvise. That investment stays valid if you change supervision.
MTConnect has been read directly since September 2026: Meshvise queries the agent as a client, which yields the running program, the execution state and the part count without going through a cell PLC. The manufacturer's agent remains an installation prerequisite.
A driver carries the connection: address, port, credentials, cadence. Each point carries its address within the protocol, its data type and its unit. Compatible equipment is discovered automatically where the protocol allows it, otherwise configuration is done by import or by hand. One site mixes as many protocols as needed in a single instance.
Saying what is missing avoids a commissioning that goes wrong. These protocols are not implemented today and are not publicly dated.
Missing a protocol? Write in, the list follows real requests.